The Sun Came Out
by Nightwingess
Summary: AU- Jack volunteers at a Daycare center but when he gets detention for one of his typical rebel antics, his shift changes and he meets someone new, a fellow volunteer by the name of Rapunzel.


**Prompt:** How about where Jack and Rapunzel as their normal brunette selves first meet at a kid center? You mentioned that's probably how they would meet in modern AU of your headcanons. C:

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Jack always came to the Children's Learning Center on Wednesdays and Fridays right on the dot of four. His routine was nonexistent, as was what was both requested by those he answered to and as he preferred it. It was simple really, walk into the room, gather the children and run outside. Sun, snow or rain, Jack insisted they'd spend at least half an hour with the grass and trees, playing in the sandbox, swinging on swings, sliding on slides and when the children were too tired to go outside, he'd have them run over tables and chairs to their hearts' content until they passed out from exhaustion.

This week's Wednesday was different, Jack had gotten himself into detention and although he pleaded, much to his dismay, with his teacher, there was no way out of it. As his teacher saw it, Jack's actions were deserving of punishment, regardless of his responsibilities.

Jack Frost had thrown textbooks out the window, a little way of testing physics, and had been caught.

"I fully intended on getting them! You just caught me at a bad time!" Jack had said, and while the books weren't harmed, too badly as they'd only fallen two stories, it was still grounds for detention.

He called the center that night, not delving into the details of what had happened. North, the man in charge of the Center itself, didn't seem to mind, he told Jack he understood, "You can come tomorrow if you'd like."

Jack didn't hesitate to say yes.

Rapunzel volunteered at the Children's Learning Center on Tuesdays and Thursdays, she'd spend her hours reading books under the sun with the children, and when it was cold outside, she'd have them all press their faces to the windows to taste the cold air. Every now and then she'd have the children stick their heads out to catch snowflakes in their mouths. As with every day, she had her shoes off, tucked somewhere in the room, and a child in her hands.

"Can I be a princess!" Little Sophie asked.

"Of course! Everyone can be!" Rapunzel exclaimed.

"But I'm a boy…" Jamie, Sophie's big brother, said less than excited by the idea of putting on a dress.

"Prince, princess, queen or king, it doesn't matter." Rapunzel touched the tip of Jamie's nose, he tried to hide the smile.

"I want to be king!" Sophie put a crown on her head and pranced around the room with the other boys and girls. It was raining outside, Rapunzel had guessed the parents of the children would be a bit behind in picking them up today, not that she was in a rush. It was only 4:00, most children weren't picked up by their parents until six.

Which was why Rapunzel was startled by the sight of a young man, dripping wet, having forgotten an umbrella, standing at the doorway. He was tall, lean, and a bit lanky, only his hair was free from the water, having slipped on a blue hoodie over his head.

"Jack!" The children all ran to him with arms opened wide. One by one, Jack picked them up and twirled them in the air. Rapunzel couldn't help but giggle at the smiles both the children and he had. She was used to the other other volunteers stopping by here and there, some working alongside her, but none so enthusiastic with the children as he was, she liked that.

It was only after he'd spun the last child that Jack noticed the young woman by the window, she had a book in her lap and a headband made of flowers in her hair. Jack had seen other volunteers before, most of them having the shift before him as teacher's aids. Jack's job was more like a baby sitter, watching over the children whose parents worked, he thought, for a moment, she was here for the earlier Thursday shift. After taking off his shoes, he walked over to her shaking the water from his head. She giggled and handed him a warm towel from the shelf next to her.

"Hi, I'm Jack." He held out his hand, she took it and shook it gently, her hand was surprisingly warm. It made him self conscious of his own cold hands.

"I'm Rapunzel, you volunteer here too?"

Jack nodded, "I uh, was supposed to be here yesterday but something came up so I came today."

"Did you get detention again?" Jamie asked the question as though it was the norm, and in a way it was. Jack's mischievous ways were known to all the children, he often pushed the adults at the center to their limits, not out of malice but for fun and of course the children enjoyed it.

Jack sighed, "Yeah…" He wasn't very open to the idea of talking about it with Rapunzel in the room. By her floral dress and sweet demeanor, she seemed more like a goody-two-shoes than anything else, his less than innocent exploits were probably frowned upon in her home.

Rather than say anything, or show any sign of judgement, Rapunzel only smiled knowingly at him.

"Queen Rapunzel!" Sophie shouted. She put a plastic crown on Rapunzel's head and took her hands to dance. Rapunzel laughed and set the book down by the window, she got down on her knees and turned in place with Sophie's small hands in hers. Jack watched her, leaning against the wall. At the pace Sophie was going, he had no doubt Rapunzel's knees were hurting but the pain didn't show on her face, only joy.

Unbeknownst to Jack, he had a goofy grin on his face, and his eyes had an ever so small twinkle. He could have watched her for days without growing tired of it.

"Jack!" Jack jumped from where he'd been standing, "Hmm?"

Jack had been so entranced by the girl, he hadn't heard several of the boys calling his name, it wasn't until Jamie had tugged on the end of Jack's hoodie that he heard their shouts.

"Can we play power rangers?"

Jack was about to say yes when Sophie ran over to Jack, "I want to be princess power ranger!"

The boys groaned, "There are no princesses in power rangers." One of the boys said, Jack rolled his eyes and sat down on the floor. Sophie eagerly sat in his lap, she took off her crown and placed it on Jack's head. He bowed to her and she bowed back.

"Actually there are, in several seasons." Jack said, "And they're pretty awesome."

Rapunzel had gotten up by now, she had opened her mouth to say exactly what Jack had said and was more than pleased when he said it first.

She watched him tickle Sophie and then the other children, after a few seconds they were all running around the room with Jack playing monster, running around to stop them.

Some of the girls ran behind Rapunzel's dress, "Save them Queen Rapunzel!" Sophie said. Rapunzel put her hand to her chin, she wasn't sure whether to laugh at her new title or at Jack, who'd stumbled forward and landed inches away from her feet.

"Ow." Jack turned over on his back, he'd tripped over a truck on the floor and felt a terrible wave of pain.

"Queen Rapunzel, King Jack is hurt!" Sophie grabbed Rapunzel's hand, she pulled it down to Jack's forehead, it was a bit too harsh of a pull and Rapunzel nearly fell right into Jack's face, her own lips being a few inches from his own, "Save him Queen!"

Both Rapunzel and Jack blushed, her eyes met his in a far too intimate way. Rather than speak or play along, they stared at one another, breathing slowly. It was odd for both of them and not soley for the embarrassment of the situation. No, Jack was used to it, he was always getting himself into trouble, embarrassment was a rarity for him and Rapunzel didn't particularly care what others thought of her, especially not children in all their innocence, although she did feel a bit embarrassed for him.

The blush they shared stemmed from the unspoken fact that they both had a strange desire to lean in further and kiss one another.

"Are they going to make out?" A kid asked, the question was followed by "ews" and "Aws" It was enough to snap them both out of the trance.

Rapunzel stood up and turned away from Jack, she touched her cheeks, they were so very, very red.

"Would you kids like a story!" Rapunzel reached for the book by the window, Jack smirked. Although he wasn't pleased with the blush he'd shown, he was quite content by causing the same effect on the girl's face.

"I want dancing!" Sophie said, her demand was followed by the other children, most of them girls. The boys stuck their tongues and ran to their plastic swords.

"We can dance," Rapunzel didn't care what they did next so long as she kept her distance from Jack.

"The King and Queen dance!" The girls cheered. At first the boys groaned, but Jamie clapped his hands.

He had seen the look on Jack's face and although he was young, he wasn't daft. Jamie thought of Jack as an older brother, he was closer to him than most of his own friends and he had not once heard or seen Jack show a remote interest in a girl apart from is typical suave flirting that was always fleeting, never lasting more than a few minutes or so.

But Jamie was smart, he'd seen Jack watch Rapunzel, and although he was too young to understand what it was he was seeing as the potential for love, he was sure that Jack had looked at Rapunzel as though she were the bees knees. It was enough for him to go along with his sister.

"I want to see the King and Queen dance." Jamie pulled up a chair, all the other students ran about doing the same, each placing a chair one after the other until the chairs had been positioned like those in a theatre.

Jack smacked his face, "I'm not a dancer."

"Rapunzel is!" One of the girls said, "And she sings and paints!"

"Face paint!" The children cried.

"Dancing first." Jamie said, he ignored the look Jack was giving him.

The children took their seats and waited for the dance to begin, Rapunzel leaned back on her heels and clasped her hands together, she had never felt so uncomfortable before. She'd danced before, with the children all the time, but with a boy her age?

Never.

Jack groaned under his breath, secured his crown on his head and bowed in front of Rapunzel. With his back turned away from the children, he winked at her and mouthed out, "It'll be quick."

She bowed in return and took his hand, she tried not to gasp from how right it felt in hers. Once again, Rapunzel felt on uneasy, not because Jack wasn't acting like a gentleman or because he was a bad dancer, he wasn't the best, he stepped on her toes a few times, but she hadn't minded, she was use to people stepping on her toes. She was uneasy because she was pretty sure she was developing a crush on someone she just met.

"Sing!" The children cried out.

"I can sing but it'll probably make your ears bleed." Jack said.

"Not you," Sophie said, "Rapunzel!"

Rapunzel blushed again, she had sung to the children earlier, so much so she thought she'd lose her voice, but she wasn't going to say no to them, it was too hard to and with Jack's all too interested grin, she felt prompted to sing anyway.

Jack's expression was one of admiration, her voice was so sweet and pure that he didn't want to dance at all, only sit and listen with his eyes closed to fully delve into the sound of it. Without realizing it, their steps slowed, their hands moved closer and by the time she had finished the song, they were all too close to one another again.

"Kiss!" The children cried. Rapunzel pulled back first, now she did feel embarrassed,

"Who wants to face paint!" She ran over to the paints, breaking her embrace with Jack. The children eagerly followed having already forgotten the romance they'd nearly witnessed.

All but Jamie who walked a bit too smugly past Jack, he even mimicked Jack's wink. Jack grabbed the boy and ruffled his hair, "Smooth kid, smooth."

By 5 pm, most of the children were wrapped in blankets on bed cots with their heads on pillows. The older children were content with their books on the corner of the room. It was all too quiet. Normally during these times, Jack would sit by the window but with Rapunzel there he thought he'd be intruding. He was surprised when she patted the seat next to her.

"Crazy day." Jack said, his tone wasn't to his liking, it was more small talk sounding, he hated small talk.

"Busy, but not any less fun." Rapunzel wrapped her feet under her dress and propped herself up with her hands, her eyes were on the world outside of the window.

A silence followed, Jack rubbed his head, unsure of what to say. When she saw him struggling, she chose to speak first.

"What did you do to get detention?"

Jack coughed briefly, once again surprised by her, "Personal." Jack said, he tried to sound serious but she had turned to look at him to see if his expression matched, it didn't.

"Personal or you're just too embarrassed to tell?"

Jack put his head on the window, he was closer to her now, he thought she'd move back but instead she let her hands linger near his knee. "I don't really get embarrassed."

"I do, but only when I think I'm embarrassing other people." She moved her hands to the glass and traced patterns of suns.

"You didn't embarrass me."

"I didn't?"

"No, you have a nice voice, sounds fifty times better than this cackle," He touched his throat, "Can't sing a single note in tune." He made faces at her to emphasize his poor singing skills, she held a hand over her mouth to stifle her laughter, the children were only a few feet away, sleeping, and she didn't want to wake them.

"That's sweet of you to say," Her voice was too dreamy sounding, at least by her ears. He found it adorable.

Jack leaned in a bit closer, "I was throwing textbooks out the window."

She wasn't sure if she should be appalled or amused, "Why on earth would you do that?"

"For the hell of it," She put her hand on his mouth and pointed to the children, Jack smiled against her skin. He raised his own hands to pull hers off his mouth but went about it slowly.

"I have this habit," He lowered his voice for the purpose of becoming quieter and also, slightly more flirtatious, "of causing trouble." He titled his head to the side as though he were a lost puppy.

She patted his cheek. She could see what he was doing but she didn't mind, "Mmm, well then Jack, I'll have to keep my eye on you."

Jack's head was full of thoughts, she was down to earth and yet she had a soft confidence that was not brooding or arrogant, it was peaceful. He wished he'd met her in school, she probably would have kept him out of a few fist fights and a few detentions. He briefly daydreamed about taking her to the fourth floor where no one was allowed because it lead to the roof. There he'd sit with her with their feet dangling off, staring at the green field of flowers that overlooked his school.

He touched the top of her head, she was so much shorter than him, even while sitting, he let his finger run down to her nose and over her lips, a strange, intimate gesture that made them both a bit breathless.

"Please do." She blushed again and shoved his shoulder, his cheekiness was more endearing than most.

By 6:45pm all the children had gone home except for Jamie and Sophie. Their mother had called to let them know she was running late, Rapunzel assured her it was fine, that they would be safe in her hands and to not worry. The four of them sat on the rug, Rapunzel braiding Sophie's hair while telling them stories of dragons and warriors, suns and moons. Jack leaned back and rested his head on a pillow. He liked hearing the sound of her voice, he also liked how patient she was with Sophie who continuously cut Rapunzel off to ask a question.

By 7:30pm, Jamie and Sophie had fallen asleep on each side of Jack, their heads rested on his torso.

"You'd think they wouldn't be so sleepy," Jack said, "Sophie took a nap and Jamie's bedtime isn't until 9." Jack pushed himself up just enough for him to see Rapunzel's face. She had been cleaning the room soon after the children fell asleep.

"You must be very warm." She walked over to him and sat down, she gently pushed the hair away from Sophie's face to keep it out of her eyes.

"I've never been warm, more of a cold kind of guy."

Rapunzel put a hand on Jack's forehead, he looked up at her fingers and waited for her to agree with his statement, "No, you're warm."

"I'm freezing, don't lie."

"I never lie, maybe you just think you feel cold," She giggled, "But, I know warmth, and you have it."

Jack closed his eyes, if he looked at her any longer, he was sure he'd blush.

By 7:45pm, their mother had finally come, she apologized over and over again for being so late. Both Rapunzel and Jack told her she had nothing to worry about, and that they both enjoyed spending time with them.

By the time she left, the power had gone out. North was rushing to every room letting the few volunteers and teacher's aids know they were working on getting it back up, "It is best to get home!" North said as he darted down the hall to the next room.

Rapunzel giggled, in the dark, she couldn't see where she'd left her shoes and because of that, she wasn't sure if she should go home just yet but she'd often walked barefoot, it was nothing new.

"I could walk home without them?" She asked herself aloud, she already had her bag around her shoulder and was ready to head out for the night.

"You walked here?" Jack was surprised, there weren't any houses near the center, not for a few miles, most of what was near them were stores, playgrounds and fields.

"Mhmm, but walking in the rain is so lovely." She closed her eyes and jumped up and down, the idea of it had her excited. Jack sighed, he knew he should find it odd that she was excited over something that most would groan over but being someone who very much enjoyed walking through snowstorms, he found it pretty cute and also refreshing.

Jack spotted her shoes near the cubbies, he took her hand, "They're over here." They knelt down together, his shoes being next to hers, "I can walk with you." He said as he handed them to her, "It's probably safer that way."

She chuckled, "Why do I get the feeling," She tugged at his jean pocket where she'd heard his keys jingle, "You drove here?"

"I can walk back."

"You want to walk me home then walk back to get your car?"

"Well," He tugged on the laces of his shoes, the idea of putting them back on repulsed him, "I would have said I'd drive you but you got so excited, I didn't want to take it away from you."

While it was dark in the room, there was light from the windows, light mostly from the lightning outside. With that, he could see her expression change, rather than smile at him, she looked appreciative but for reasons he didn't fully understand.

"You're so sweet," She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, "But I'll be okay." Her voice was so quiet he hadn't heard the last few words. He leaned in with the intetion of asking her what she said but when she leaned in too, his eyes widened.

He heard the roar of thunder followed by his throat swallowing hard as though he had something stuck inside.

"I can drive you," He said softly, "And stop by a field for you to walk in," He didn't know why he was offering, it was such a silly thing to do late at night in the rain with someone he just met. However, there was a part of his brain, a small, quiet part, that explained why he bothered to say anything at all.

_Maybe_, the voice in his head said, _you like her, even though you don't know her, you like her quite a lot._

She put a hand on his knee to keep herself from falling over, "You'd walk in a rainy field with me?"

Rapunzel was used to people playing into her strange antics just because she'd asked them to, but it was another thing altogether to have someone offer her something she'd want to do. And by the glint in his eye, she knew he wanted to go too.

_Is it strange_, she thought, _for me to feel this way about a stranger?_

"Sure, I'd love to." Jack said it as though she'd asked him to dance.

Rapunzel laughed, "I wasn't asking you to do it, I was just…"

"Don't take it back now." He said it quicker than he'd wanted to, more eager than he wanted her to know.

She liked it, she liked the way he spoke to her, as though she mattered, as though he wanted more of her, her company.

"Okay."

He took her hands to help her up off the floor but before he'd completely gotten up, she'd leaned in ever so gently, wrapped her arms around his neck, placed her toes over his, and pressed her lips against Jack's.

His heart beat faster, the thunder rolled louder, the lightning lit brighter and while the rain rolled off the glass, and his hands reached for her waist to deepen the kiss, he felt a sweet burn of sunlight shinning all over him, as though the sun had came out in the middle of a storm.

They walked out hand in hand, and while it poured on their way to his car, they still felt the warmth in one another's hands, sweeter than any warmth they'd ever known.


End file.
